Black Diamond, a product line of RMT, Inc., is responsible for some very rugged computing solutions built for the military environment, like their SwitchBack ultra-rugged reconfigurable field PC. This time, they are announcing a new technology, the Digital Army Computer System, or DACS, for short. The gadget is a networked communications and navigation system designed to be worn by pedestrian troops and part of the Israeli Defense Forces' Digital Army Program.

"DACS is a significant development for the IDF because it marks the first time that dismounted commanders are not tethered to their stationary or mobile command posts. The dismounted commander can be anywhere in the field and still have and provide the reliable situational awareness needed to carry out their mission," said Yehoo Even-Zahav, Brig. General, retired (former head of the IDF's C4I Technical division).

Like other solutions from Black Diamond, the DACS also comes with a modular design, which allows it to be used in more than one battlefield scenario. It can be mounted onto vehicles and the troops using it will be able to configure it according to certain needs. This way, GPS technology, data acquisition, or networking functions can always be added to the device depending on the mission.

"Wearable technology is the next logical step for dismounted warfighters in the 21st century, and Black Diamond is currently developing wearable systems for two of the top five militaries in the world," stated Justin Dyster, Black Diamond's vice president of engineering. "Our extensive research and experience gives us unique insight into the battlefield challenges of wearable systems. That's why DACS can run existing battle-management software, can manage the embedded secure wireless communications seamlessly, and includes an FPGA capable of aiding in security management and providing additional inputs/outputs for tasks like real-time encoding and decoding of video."

C4I Corp., IDF's telecommunications branch, appreciates DACS the most and has given it the Program of the Year award for the flexibility it provides, including the integration of application-specific components according to fighters' ranks.


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